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Shooting an elephant by George Orwell analysis
Orwell's argument in shooting an elephant
Orwell's argument in shooting an elephant
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Jonerl maignan. Professor: Liamog English 102 6 February 2017 “Shooting an Elephant”-George Orwell, In the story “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell, in the story Orwell finds himself at the mercy of a hooting crowd of Burmese villagers eager to see him shoot an elephant gone “must.” The Orwell is confronted with a moral dilemma and abandons his morals to escape the mockery of the native Burman’s. He feels compelled to shoot the animal because the Burman’s “did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching” (473). Therefore, in the story, Orwell is both a master of his dominion and a slave to the population because he was pressured to shoot the elephant. …show more content…
He knows that if he does not kill the elephant he will be laughed at and the people might disobey him. He rationalized killing the animal by saying he had to or he would look like a fool in front of the crowd. The narrator knew that was wrong to kill the elephant. He didn't want to kill it from the beginning. He had procured an elephant gun just in case he might need it. When he finally came upon the elephant, peacefully eating outside of town it no longer posed a threat. However, a large group of Burman’s had formed behind him, and they were now expecting him to kill the …show more content…
Walking closer to the elephant can get Orwell killed, or worse, some of the Burmese might laugh if that were to happen. Considering the laughter, Orwell says, "That would never do." Leaving without shooting the elephant is also not an option "A sahib has to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things," implying that the Burmese will see him as weak if he seems to change his mind about slaying the beast. The British have created a proud image that they demand the Burmese respect, but they are trapped by having to live within that image. Orwell ignores his conscience and shoots the elephant, and he compounds his sin by botching the execution. Bullets shot into the wrong spot because the poor animal to die "very slowly and in great agony." In spite of Orwell putting "shot after shot into his heart and down his throat," the elephant lives thirty minutes after its "tortured gasps" force Orwell to leave. Many years later, Orwell still seems bothered by the fact that pride, not a necessity, caused him to destroy the
Throughout the story, Orwell described how he was heavily pressured by the Burmese into shooting an elephant, stating that he became "... an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind" (Capote 583). Through Orwell's diction it became known that Orwell was hated by the majority of his residing village since he upheld the position of a sub divisional police officer for the British Raj in colonial Burma. Orwell was driven to killing the animal out of desperation of the public dropping all forms of hatred towards him. Although killing the elephant was against his will, Orwell went through with the deed earning a new profound identity known as the elephant
Every day, each individual will look back on decisions he or she have made and mature from those experiences. Though it takes time to realize these choices, the morals and knowledge obtained from them are priceless. In George Orwell’s nonfictional essay, “Shooting an Elephant”, a young Orwell was stationed in Burma for the British imperial forces, tasked to deal with an elephant who destroyed various parts of the village Moulmein while its owner was away. Backed by second thoughts and a crowd of thousands, he finds himself shooting the elephant and reflecting that it was not justified; however, it was a choice pushed by his duty and the people. Written with a fusion of his young and old self’s outlook on shooting the elephant, Orwell’s essay is a sensational read that captivates his audience and leaves them questioning his decision.
When he finial find the elephant Orwell say “I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him.” But when he lays his eyes on the crowd he changes his stance to “but I did not want to shoot the elephant.”(Orwell 199). He felt guilty for shooting the elephant when he describe that the elephant worth more alive than dead, but despite the many reason not to shoot the elephant, he took a shot. Orwell describes “when I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick …I fired again into the same spot…I fired a third time. That was the shot that did it for him.”(199) the shooting of the elephant represent the Burma people trying to stay alive and over powering by the
Although shooting the, now seemingly calm, “mad elephant” is morally wrong to George Orwell, in his narration of Shooting an Elephant, he has to do so as he is a representative, or more so a pawn, of the British authority in the occupied country of Burma. Being such, he wages a war with his inner self to seek which decision needs to be carried out. With two outcomes in mind, one being that he will be seen as a fool if he does not shoot the elephant and the other being an authority of the law by truly showing it and protecting the villagers, he has an epiphany. With such an authority, the law and someone’s moral conscience diverge. He then realizes what must be done and shoots the elephant to protect the imperialistic authority. As the excitement
Some two thousand Burmese were trailing right behind Police Officer Orwell, expecting to get vengeance for the man that the elephant killed. Orwell is first pressured just by their mere presence. Only a few moments pass before Orwell comes to terms with what he thinks is the best alternative as he stated, “And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly.” (327) In addition, he felt subjected to shoot the animal; the Burmese were finally supporting him, and he couldn 't give that up even if that meant doing something against his better
A police officer in the British Raj, the supposedly 'unbreakable'; ruling force, was afraid. With his gun aimed at a elephant's head, he was faced with the decision to pull the trigger. That officer was George Orwell, and he writes about his experience in his short story, 'Shooting an Elephant';. To save face, he shrugged it off as his desire to 'avoid looking the fool'; (George Orwell, 283). In truth, the atmosphere of fear and pressure overwhelmed him. His inner struggle over the guilt of being involved in the subjugation of a people added to this strain, and he made a decision he would later regret enough to write this story.
Orwell speaks of how he is so against imperialism, but gives in to the natives by shooting the elephant to prove he is strong and to avoid humiliation. He implies that he does not want to be thought of as British, but he does not want to be thought the fool either. Orwell makes his decision to shoot the elephant appear to be reasonable but underneath it all he questions his actions just as he questions those of the British. He despised both the British Empire as well as the Burmese natives, making everything more complicated and complex. In his essy he shows us that the elephant represents imperialism; therefore, the slow destruction of the elephant must represent the slow demise of British Imperialism.
...he elephant, and the elephant, who painfully dies, focuses the reader's attention on the suffering that imperialism causes for both parties. If the shooting was justified, Orwell's argument would have been immensely weakened.
“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell demonstrates one man's moralistic battle between his own belief of preservation of life against that of the crowd of natives which spur him to kill the beast. The author is incited in his actions by the large, unanimous crowd looming eagerly behind him. The sheer size of the group of Burmese natives can create an illusion of strength in numbers that can be hard to fight. The author knew, on one hand, that the conclusion to shoot the beast is immoral, however, from a social standpoint, agreement with the group meant survival in their territory. Failure to comply with what is expected could result in punishment in the form of embarrassment. The author writes “to come all that way, rifle in ...
...o the wrong spot cause the poor animal to die "very slowly and in great agony." In spite of Orwell putting "shot after shot into his heart and down his throat," the elephant lives thirty minutes after its "tortured gasps" force Orwell to leave. Many years later, Orwell still seems bothered by the fact that pride, not necessity, caused him to destroy the animal.
The character, himself, is part of the British rule and is supposed to have all of the power. The Burmese, though, dangle the power in front of him. He is weak and unsure of himself, stating that he “wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it” (60). The character is not able to stand up for what he believes in -- that is, not shooting the elephant. There is a back and forth struggle in his mind about whether or not the elephant needs to be killed. Orwell’s character is fully aware that it is wrong and immoral to shoot an innocent creature, but eventually secedes to the demands of the Burmese, attempting to prove his cooperation and loyalty to those watching. In a way, the Burmese represent the pressures of society. Because of this, the audience can sympathize with the main character. There are always times when we, the readers, are unsure of ourselves, but we eventually make a decision. Whether we make the decision for ourselves or are assisted by others, in the end, we must take responsibility for our own actions. In a broader sense, Orwell’s character represents the internal conflict that everyone faces: should we conform to society or should we be our own
Orwell marches uneasily down the hill as a crowd of two thousand Burmans follow. Below the hill he could see a road and just beyond the elephant was roaming. He decided that to not kill the elephant would disappoint all the eager Burmans and make himself appear a fool to have gone to all this trouble and just turn back. He ponders allowing the great beast to charge him so that its death would be in self defense but realizes that would be unwise due to his poor aim. He lays on the road, takes aim it where he believes the creature's brain to be, and pulls the trigger as the crowd behind him shouts with glee.
As he goes to find and approach the elephant, all of the frightened civilians follow closely behind and are anxiously anticipating for him to kill the elephant that has caused them all of this danger. Once he finally finds the elephant, he sees him grazing in a field innocently and peacefully, as his fit of “must” had passed, and was now simply waiting for its master to find him and guide him home. At this point in the story, the suspense and dread hits Orwell’s audience hard, as the young policeman is torn between whether or not he should kill this elephant because it has both taken and endangered lives, and if he lets all the people in the village down for not killing it, he will be mocked and laughed at by the people, and very likely be reprimanded for not doing the “right thing”. But on the other hand, the elephant is still only an animal that didn’t know any better, and the policeman feels that he should wait until the elephant’s master can find him and retrieve the
He made a deal with himself. “If he charged, I could shoot; if he took no notice of me, it would be safe to leave him until the mahout came back,” (Orwell, 5). Sinking with every step he took, Orwell knew that if the elephant charged and he missed his shot, he would become another victim of the beast. If he was killed, humiliation would be his only
"Shooting an Elephant" is perhaps one of the most anthologized essays in the English language. It is a splendid essay and a terrific model for a theme of narration. The point of the story happens very much in our normal life, in fact everyday. People do crazy and sometimes illegal moves to get a certain group or person to finally give them respect. George Orwell describes an internal conflict between his personal morals and his duty to his country to the white man's reputation. The author's purpose is to explain the audience (who is both English and Burmese) about the kind of life he is living in Burma, about the conditions, circumstances he is facing and to tell the British Empire what he think about their imperialism and his growing displeasure for the imperial domination of British Empire.